DTC bus fares not revised, losses mounting

The Delhi Transport Corporation stares at burgeoning losses as the government has repeatedly declined the corporation’s proposal for bus fare revision. The bus fares were last revised in 2009.

Bus breakdowns, no increase in ticket sale and increased employee cost are among the many factors affecting the finances of the DTC as per the latest comptroller and auditor general (CAG) report. Grants from the Delhi government are what enable the corporation to meet its expenses.

According to senior DTC officials, the corporation has been sending requests for fare revision since the last few consecutive years . But the corporation’s proposals failed to get the cabinet approval each time.

The proposals for fare revision are first submitted for approval to the transport department. After the department approves the proposal, a cabinet nod is required.

“Change in the total income from Rs 33.71 per km in 2010-11 to Rs 108.92 per km in 2013-14 and Rs 77.47 per km in 2014-15 was on accounting of grants-in-aid from GNCTD (government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) of Rs 2,204 crore and Rs 1,104.64 crore in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively and not due to improvement in operational performance,” says the CAG in its report for the year end in March 2015.

“As against the total income of Rs 5,922.98 crore during 2010-15, corporation’s cash expenses were Rs 9,656 crore, resulting in a cash crunch,” the reports says.

Close to 400 buses break down daily, a senior DTC official told this newspaper. The CAG reports state that the DTC misses scheduled kilometers due to “non-availability of buses, want of crew and compressed natural gas (CNG) and breakdowns.”

No new buses have been added to the DTC’s fleet in the last several years despite a string of government schemes and tenders. Since 2013, the DTC have had three failed tenders to procure buses.

Earlier in May, the DTC increased fares of its bus services for Noida by up to 33 per cent, but it was only to match the rates fixed by the Uttar Pradesh government for its bus services to Delhi.